Unraveled (23 page)

Knox flashed his teeth. “Black Arts’s two most promising fighters are still on the
roster, and it ain’t you two. Won’t
ever
be you two. You sucked the day you walked in. Your so-called skills became more laughable
the longer you tried to pretend you were badass motherfuckers. Am I right, Deacon?”

“One hundred percent right as usual, Shihan.”

“Do you suck his dick too?” Lotte and Radley high-fived.

“I hear the comedy club in Writer Square is hiring . . . busboys,” Deacon drawled.
“You jokers oughta fit right in. Now, get the fuck outta here.”

Lotte and Radley looked at each other.

“Here’s where you say, ‘Make us leave,’ giving us the chance to kick your scrawny
asses down the stairs. Or you do the smart thing and shut your mouths and get out.”
Deacon stepped away from the door, giving them a clear path.

“We’ll leave, but this won’t be the last you’ll see of us,” Lotte warned.

“Yeah, you’d better start locking your door during the day,” Radley said smugly. “You
never know who could show up. Homeless guys are always looking for a place to hide
out during the day. Maybe we’ll tell the hobos at the Sixteenth Street Mall about
this place.”

“Was that a threat?” Knox asked.

“Call it whatever you want. A warning.” Lotte grinned nastily. “A premonition.”

“That’s supposed to intimidate me into putting you back in the program?”

Lotte shrugged.

Knox started toward them. “Tell you what. If one of you bests me? I’ll let you train.”
He crossed his arms over his chest. “So which one of you is it gonna be?”

“Me,” Lotte and Radley said simultaneously.

“There can be only one,” Deacon said, deadpan.

Holy fuck. Knox was about to burst out laughing at Deacon’s
Highlander
reference. This whole thing had headed into farce territory.

“I can punch a fuck of a lot harder than you,” Radley said to Lotte.

“That’s the only fuckin’ thing you can do,” Lotte shot back. “My takedown skills are
way better than yours.”

Radley snorted. “Because you took a year of tae kwon do at the Y? Give me a fuckin’
break.”

Where the hell had Ronin dug up these dumb fuckers?

“Make a goddamn decision,” Knox snapped.

Lotte stepped forward. “Me.”

A quick spike of adrenaline juiced him as he closed the distance between him and that
cocky little punk. Lotte started to speak, but Knox swept his feet out from under
him.

Lotte landed on his ass.

Then Knox flipped him onto his belly, pulling his right arm crossways to his opposite
hip and trapping his left arm beneath the front of his body. He pressed his boot on
the side of Lotte’s face. He didn’t bother to lean down or to whisper. “I’ve got you
pinned down, bro, and I’m using only one of my arms and one of my legs. Guess
worthless
applies more to you than it does to me.”

“Let me go.”

“I will. Then you’ll take your little friend and get the fuck out of this building
and never show your faces here again.” Knox pulled on Lotte’s arm until he whimpered.
“The training room is under surveillance, so if a single homeless person shows up
here? The tape goes to the cops. Got it?”

Lotte nodded.

“Answer the fucking question out loud so I know you understand.”

“Yes.”

“Yes, what?”

“Yes, sir.”

He released Lotte.

Radley didn’t wait for his bro. He hightailed it out the door. Lotte slunk out like
a scalded cat, and Deacon followed them to make sure they got gone.

Knox scrubbed his hands over his face. He didn’t need that shit today. When he looked
up, Shiori leaned in the doorframe.

“Impressive, Shihan.”

“All in a day’s work.”

“I love watching you deliver the smackdown. No one expects a guy your size to move
that fast. In fact, it really turns me on.” She sauntered forward with that heated
look in her eye.

Instant boner.

Shiori stood on tiptoe to whisper in his ear. “I finished those reports.”

“Okay.” Goddammit, he loved that little bite of pain when she dug her fingers into
his abdomen.

“I left them in the supply closet.”

“Why?”

“It’s time you had a lesson in Japanese. Oral is the best way to learn, don’t you
think?”

He groaned. “My brain just totally went offline and I can’t think at all.”

“Luckily, as your Mistress, it’s my job to think for you. Get your ass in the supply
closet.”

“Yes, ma’am.”

KNOX
followed through with his idea of keeping a friendly athletic competition going between
them, since their grappling practices had deteriorated into a game of grab ass.

He’d rented out the rock-climbing wall and obstacle course at a local gym that catered
to the outdoor set. Something about Knox’s pleased grin had Shiori worried.

“Is there a reason you’re beaming sunshine from those pearly whites, Ob-Knox-ious?”

“Could be I’m thinking about watching your ass as you’re moving up the rock wall.
Or it could be I’m thinking about kicking your ass, timewise, when we climb the rock
wall, She-Cat.”

Shiori adjusted her shoes. “So confident.”

“I am.”

“Willing to make a wager?”

“Depends. What are you offering?”

“If you win, I’ll let you top me tonight. But if I win, I get to break out the strap-on
I bought for you.”

He smoothed back a piece of hair that’d escaped her ponytail. “While I’m humbled by
your offer, Mistress, I have no desire to change that dynamic between us, even for
one night.”

Her jaw almost hit the floor. “You’re serious.”

“Yes. I’ve realized that when I’m with you . . . I’m who and what I’m supposed to
be. I want to make you happy that you took a chance on me.”

This was the moment she’d waited for. And now that it was here . . . she had no idea
what to say. Or do. “It was a no-brainer. I mean look at you. You’re this hot-bodied
Viking. Even if I couldn’t bring you to heel, I’d have a great time trying to convince
you
submissive
doesn’t mean
subservient
.” She smirked. “At least not all the time.”

“You’re being flip about this. Which I know you well enough to know means the conversation
makes you nervous. Why?”

Because every day I’m falling for you a little more and I’m imagining all sorts of
ridiculous romantic scenarios where you are mine, just mine, for good.

“Shiori?”

“Because this isn’t a conversation I want to have here.” She poked him in the chest.
“Stop trying to get in my head and put me off my game. Not happening. The bet stands.
Take it or leave it.”

“Leave it, but I’ll take you. Anytime, anyplace.” He kissed her with sweet heat that
blew her concentration to hell.

They walked hand in hand to the cavernous room with four different wall configurations.

The hipster guide named Errol ran over the safety rules before he turned them loose.

Knox bowed to her with a smile and kissed her knuckles. “Mistress first.”

Shiori eyed the wall, trying to discern a fast rise pattern. In the end, she just
went for it. She scaled the first wall freehand and made it to the top in less than
three minutes.

Knox high-fived her. “Great form.” He put his mouth on her ear. “And I’m not just
talking about that delectable ass, kitten.”

“Stop distracting me or I’ll yell out filthy suggestions during
your
turn and see how well you can climb with a hard-on.”

“Hmm. You know, a third leg might come in handy.”

She whopped him on the arm.

The second wall required a harness. Finding both her balance and the right footholds
proved difficult. She finished without falling—major feat—around the ten-minute mark.

Not a great time. But she reminded herself that being small and agile was an advantage
in this contest.

Knox swung his arms and did a couple of frog jumps to loosen his muscles. She stared
at his crotch, wondering if he wore a cup. Wondering if there was any way he could
grip the rocks so she could climb him and ride him.

“Eyes off my junk,” he warned.

Then he started up the wall, moving across it like a spider. He reached the top in
less than two minutes.

Dammit. Evidently long legs and long arms trumped small and agile.

She high-fived him. “Looking good.”

“Thanks.” He took a long pull from his water bottle.

“I love the way your butt muscles flex and bunch. I’d definitely tap that ass.”

Knox spit water across the floor at her comment.

On the second rock wall, Knox ran into a little trouble, but he still beat her time
by a minute and a half. Which, when she looked at the performance wall where the climb
times were divided into performance levels, she could see that Knox hit expert level
on both climbs.

Sneaky fucker.

She stayed close as he removed the safety rigging and helmet.

“Something on your mind, She-Cat?”

“Was this a trick? You’re some kind of rock-climbing stud?”

“No. But I’m happy you think my technique—my winning technique—makes me a stud.”

“We still have the obstacle course left, so don’t think you have this competition
in the bag.” When he didn’t respond, she said, “But you have to admit you’ve got some
experience with rock climbing.”

“We did rappelling exercises in combat training—which is going down a wall as fast
as possible. But all that focused on was a stealth exit.”

“Is there anything you haven’t done?”

“Lots of things. What I did get to do Uncle Sam paid for. It’s not like I could afford
to go heli-skiing or surf the big breakers in Hawaii.”

Shiori flopped down beside him and swigged from her water bottle. “I can afford to
do those adventures, but I never have.”

“No interest?”

“No time. Between my job and my martial-arts training, if I had an extra hour, I shadowed
Mistress Keiko.”

“When I see all you’ve accomplished in your thirty-five years? You make me feel like
a slacker.”

She gave him a peck on the mouth. “You’re far from that, Shihan. But fair warning:
I’m gonna rock this motherfucking obstacle course.”

“I’ve no doubt of that.” He tugged on her ponytail. “But you’ll have to bring your
A game to beat me. Because we did run lots of obstacle courses in the army.”

Shit. She was doomed. Maybe if she did a little trash-talking she could throw him
off his game. She shrugged. “Don’t count on it. You’re older now. Your muscle memory
isn’t as quick. Your knees are weaker. You looked a little out of breath on the climbing
wall, so your stamina might not be as good as it used to be.”

“Only time my knees are weak is when I’m around you.” He dragged his finger down the
line of her jaw. “Same for that breathless feeling.” Then he curled his hand around
the back of her neck
and swept his thumb across the pulse pounding in her throat. “And, kitten, because
of you, my stamina is way better than it’s ever been.”

Note to self: You suck at trash-talking.

But Knox? Holy fuck, the man could make her wet with just words.

She had to refocus. “So it’ll be fun to see if your body can back up your ego.”

Knox laughed. “Lead the way.”

The obstacle course had two different levels. Easy and moderate. It also had a different
scoring system for men and women, since the course was geared toward men.

The instructor gave a basic rundown and indicated he’d be scoring them.

Shiori was a little disappointed there wasn’t the crack of a starter’s pistol to get
her going.

The first obstacle was a series of tires—putting a foot through each hole. Easy enough.

The next challenge was a warped balance beam four feet off the ground, which bowed
in spots and wobbled as she crossed it. Again, the beam seemed easy, but she knew
men had a harder time with it.

In the third run, she had to dodge life-sized chunks of swinging foam that resembled
boulders. They swung in random patterns. Shiori headed straight through the middle,
leaning back to avoid one and ducking down to avoid another. The last boulder dropped
straight down and narrowly missed her leg. But then she was free.

Obstacle number four was the rope climb over an eight-foot wall.

Don’t overthink it.

She rushed toward it, grabbing on to the rope and planting her feet halfway up the
wall. She had upper-body strength, but nothing like Knox’s. Gritting her teeth, she
inched up the wall at a snail’s pace.

The rope is your tool.

She remembered seeing one of those Japanese game shows on TV, with wacky physical
challenges, where a woman used the wall as a springboard and bounced her way to the
top. Shiori tried that. Three bounces as she moved her hands up the rope. Three more
bounces and she was over the wall. It took her only two bounces to scale down the
other side of the wall.

She bent at the waist and caught her breath as she noticed the next obstacle. Steel
monkey bars, then a set of rings, then another set of monkey bars.

One right after another.

Yeah. This course was totally geared toward men.

But she wasn’t giving up.

She jumped up, grabbed the first bar with both hands and started to swing. Her arms
weren’t long enough that she could skip more than one steel bar.

By the time she reached the rings, her arms ached. But again, she built up a swinging
momentum and was able to skip every other ring. The true test now would be making
it to the end of the monkey bars.

Her hands were sweaty, and her arms shook. She threw herself onto the first bar. That’s
when she knew she couldn’t swing anymore. Muscle fatigue and damp hands were a bad
combination.

Come on. Back to basics. How did you do this when you were a kid and had zero upper-body
strength?

One bar at a time.

She had to reach out with one hand, as if she were doing a pull-up, then bring her
other hand beside it. Eight bars. The process was slow, but she made it.

The last course loomed ahead. She’d have to crawl through a long steel tube and then
leap across a water trap into a sandbox.

Excitement hit her like a shot of adrenaline.

She was small enough that she wouldn’t have to crawl through the tube on her belly.
If she hunched her shoulders and crouched
down, she could duckwalk through it. That could shave seconds off her time.

And it worked amazingly well. High on her cleverness, she sprinted toward the water
trap and launched herself over it, landing on her hands and knees in the sandbox.

Done. She’d done it.

Then Knox was there, lifting her to her feet, swinging her around in a circle, peppering
her face with kisses, telling her how proud he was of her and that she deserved to
win after her awesome display of athletic ingenuity.

She loved how Knox got so swept up in everything. He never held anything back.

After parking her on a bench with a bottle of water, he crouched in front of her.
“You sure you’re all right? No shame in barfing. Most people do.”

“I’m all right. Can you give me a few minutes to catch my breath before you run the
course? Because I want to watch.”

“Of course.”

He kept staring at her. Finally she said, “I swear I’m not feeling sick.”

“That’s not why I’m looking at you.”

“Then why?”

“You’ll think it’s stupid.”

“Only if you don’t tell me.”

His eyes roamed her face. “You scare me.”

Not what she’d expected. “Why?”

“I’ve wanted to try this place for three years, but no one would ever agree to come
with me. Then you didn’t even hesitate when I suggested it. You’re everything I wanted
in a woman—more, actually, because you’ve opened up part of me that I’d never acknowledged.”
Knox looked at a spot over her shoulder. “So now you’re in my life, but I know it’s
not permanent. And that sucks.”

Shiori jumped to her feet and wrapped her arms around his
waist, pressing her face against his chest. A thousand words bounced around in her
brain, but she couldn’t find the right ones, so she said nothing.

Knox ran his hands down her arms and stepped back. When she looked up at him, his
smile was cocky, and no humor danced in his eyes. “See you at the finish line.” He
turned and jogged away.

How had that happened? They’d been having a great day. What brought on his abrupt
shift in mood?

This was a reminder why she played in a club situation. The expectations there were
all short-term. Like Knox, she’d become cynical that she’d ever find not only what
she wanted but what she needed.

But brooding about it wouldn’t solve anything. Although she knew she’d be breaking
this down piece by piece later.

Shiori saw a flash of red and realized Knox had started the course. So she moved to
a better vantage point.

Oddly enough, the tires gave Knox trouble. His long legs were a disadvantage for this
portion.

Next he moved to the balance beam. And again he struggled, nearly falling off at the
midway point. He righted himself and finished by using huge strides to get himself
to the end of the beam.

She studied his face. Such concentration. It was a little jarring to recognize he
wore that same look when they were naked and he was trying to make her come.

The swinging boulder obstacle proved no challenge for him at all. He dodged, ducked,
and spun and ran to the rope climb.

He didn’t need time to catch his breath. At his height, his first jump put him midway
up the rope. Then he shinnied up the thing like a damn monkey. He stood on top of
the wall and used the rope as a guide to slide to the ground.

Son of a bitch. Why hadn’t she thought of that? She’d bounced down like she had on
the other side.

But when Knox faced the monkey bars, she wondered if he had rope burns on his palms.

If he had them, it sure hadn’t affected him. With his long arms, he made it across
the breadth of the steel structure, utilizing only the middle bar before reaching
the end. He did the exact same maneuver with the rings. He took a second to breathe
before he tackled the final set of monkey bars. Then he swung to the ground.

Shiori moved along the outside of the course and saw Knox drop to all fours at the
entrance to the steel tube. With those broad shoulders, it’d be a tight fit. From
the moment his feet disappeared she counted one-one-thousand, two-one-thousand, three-one-thousand,
four-one-thousand, five-one-thousand. By the time she hit six, Knox scrambled out
of the tunnel.